palace hotel tokyo nurtures business best practices

As a sequel to its recently launched Palatial Pursuits initiatives in the arts, Palace Hotel Tokyo is paving new roads into the city’s dynamic business scene with Cultivating Tokyo.

The new experience available to business travelers, as well as leisure travelers, shifts gears on the usual array of amenities by re-forging the anchor on each and every Palatial Pursuit – in this case, a bespoke two-hour or four-hour private session with a connoisseur on etiquette in Japan.

“Packages that include complimentary Internet connectivity, daily pressing service and overnight shoe shining have a place in every cityscape, but here, the business traveler who will really make an impression is the one who can illustrate that they’ve made an effort to understand the subtle nuances of the local culture, whether it’s the gentleman who knows how to host a business dinner or the lady who can speak some basic Japanese,” said Executive Director and General Manager Masaru Watanabe.

As a foundation, Cultivating Tokyo starts business travelers off with two nights’ accommodation in a Club Deluxe Room or Executive Suite. The stay comes with full Club Lounge access and privileges, including:

Private check-in & check-out

Dedicated concierge service

Daily buffet breakfast

Daily afternoon tea service

Daily evening cocktails & canapés

Complimentary use of the Club Lounge’s private meeting room

Beyond these perks, and the hotel’s efforts to serve as the traveler’s residence and office while in Tokyo, it’s with personalized sessions on etiquette that Cultivating Tokyo really makes a difference.

Etiquette in Tokyo, perhaps more than in any other city in the world, is very refined and deeply rooted in customs. Indeed, the well-recognized two-handed proffering of a business card, the recipient’s two-handed acceptance and studied consideration of the same, is widely believed to have originated in Japan.

The exchange of business cards, or meishi koukan, is all-important as a tone-setter for any meeting. But so are many other ways and means of doing business. Cultivating Tokyo anticipates the executive traveler’s needs – whether he or she needs a tutorial on forms of address, on body language, on best practices at meal times – and elevates the possibilities.

And hotel guests need not book the Cultivating Tokyo stay experience to avail themselves of the benefit. The service is also available to book (in advance) à la carte via the concierge desk.

Nor is the scope of Cultivating Tokyo limited to the specific wants of business travelers. Whether an executive with adventurous family in tow or a leisure traveller keen to firm up one’s in-country savvy, the new experience enables a deeper appreciation of the destination.